Netanyahu called the return of these body parts a \u201cclear violation\u201d of the ceasefire agreement, which requires\u00a0Hamas<\/a>\u00a0to return the remaining hostages in Gaza as soon as possible. Israeli officials also accused Hamas of staging the discovery of these remains on Monday, sharing a 14-minute edited video captured by a military drone in Gaza.<\/p>\n Israel notified the United States before launching the strikes on Tuesday, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.<\/p>\n In Gaza City, at least two Palestinians were killed by strikes, according to Rami Mhanna, the managing director of Shifa hospital, where the bodies were taken. In Khan Younis, an Israeli strike on a vehicle killed five Palestinians, including two children, according to Ahmed al-Farra, the head of pediatrics at Nasser hospital, where the bodies were taken.<\/p>\n Earlier in the day, Israeli troops were shot at in the southern city of Rafah and returned fire, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because there hasn\u2019t been an official announcement yet.<\/p>\n In a statement, Hamas denied involvement in the gunfire in Rafah and reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire. \u201cThe violent strikes carried out by Israel across the Strip is a blatant violation of the ceasefire deal,\u201d said the group, calling on mediators to pressure Israel to stop.<\/p>\n The U.S. vice president expressed confidence that the ceasefire would hold. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t going to be little skirmishes here and there,\u201d Vance told reporters on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n Palestinians watch as Egyptian machinery and workers search for the bodies of hostages in Hamad City, Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo\/Abdel Kareem Hana)\n<\/p>\n This undated photo provided by the Hostages Family Forum shows Ofir Tzarfati, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023 and whose body was recovered by Israeli troops in Nov. 2023. (Hostages Family Forum via AP)\n<\/p>\n Palestinian children look at the site where Israeli police says its forces killed three Palestinian fighters as they exited a cave in Kafr Qud near the West Bank town of Jenin, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo\/Majdi Mohammed)\n<\/p>\n Bodies of unidentified Palestinians returned from Israel are buried in a mass grave in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jehad Alshrafi)\n<\/p>\n Members of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, along with Egyptian workers and machinery, search for the bodies of hostages in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo\/Abdel Kareem Hana)\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 5<\/p>\n Palestinians watch as Egyptian machinery and workers search for the bodies of hostages in Hamad City, Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo\/Abdel Kareem Hana)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a> The ceasefire that began on Oct. 10<\/a>\u00a0has largely held despite at least two previous flare-ups in violence.<\/p>\n On Oct. 19, Israel said two Israeli soldiers were killed by Hamas fire. Israel responded with a series of strikes that killed over 40 Palestinians, according to local health officials. And over the weekend, Israel carried out an airstrike against what it said were Islamic Jihad militants planning an attack, wounding several people.<\/p>\n There are still 13 bodies of hostages in Gaza. Hamas said Tuesday it had recovered the body of a hostage, but after Israel announced the plans to strike Gaza, Hamas said in a statement it would delay the handover.<\/p>\n An AP videographer in Khan Younis witnessed Tuesday what appeared to be a white body bag being carried out from a tunnel by several men, including some masked combatants, and then transported into an ambulance. It was not immediately clear what was in the bag.<\/p>\n The slow return of hostages\u2019 bodies is posing a challenge to implementing the next stages of the ceasefire, which will address even knottier issues, such as the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force in Gaza and deciding who will govern the territory.<\/p>\n Hamas has said it is struggling to locate the bodies\u00a0amid the vast destruction in Gaza<\/a>, while Israel has accused the group of purposely delaying their return.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, Egypt deployed a team of experts and heavy equipment to help search for the bodies of the remaining hostages.<\/p>\n An Arab official involved in negotiating the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas said talks were underway with both sides to try to prevent the truce from collapsing. \u201cBoth sides violated the agreement, but there was no significant breach,\u201d said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.<\/p>\n The official said violations included delays in handing over bodies, the limited scaleup of aid delivery, and \u201cminor skirmishes\u201d on the line that separates Israeli troops from the rest of Gaza.<\/p>\n Israel accuses Hamas of staging discovery of hostage body<\/p>\n The remains returned to Israel overnight were identified as belonging to Ofir Tzarfati.<\/p>\n Tzarfati was kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel that started the war. Hamas killed some 1,200 people that day and took 251 hostages.<\/p>\n Tzarfati was killed in captivity and his body was retrieved by Israeli troops in November 2023. In March 2024, his family received additional remains for burial. This is the third time \u201cwe have been forced to open Ofir\u2019s grave and rebury our son,\u201d the family said in a statement.<\/p>\n The AP analyzed the video Israel released accusing Hamas of staging the discovery of Tzarfati\u2019s remains on Monday.<\/p>\n The video shows a white body bag being thrown out of a damaged building into a dug out area. Three masked men are seen burying the body bag before heavy machinery moves it to a nearby area where it is buried for a second time. The men then dig it out before photos are taken of the body bag. People wearing red vests could be seen observing.<\/p>\n AP geolocated the footage and confirmed its location. The AP could not, however, confirm the exact date or time it was filmed or if remains were in fact inside the body bag.<\/p>\n \u201cThis footage clearly shows that the Hamas terrorist organization is attempting to create a false impression of efforts to locate the bodies, while in fact holding deceased hostages whose remains it refuses to release as required by the agreement,\u201d the Israeli army said in a statement.<\/p>\n Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian called the scene a \u201cdisgraceful deception\u201d and said the body bag contained the partial remains of Tzarfati.<\/p>\n Hamas did not respond to AP\u2019s request for comment but in a statement accused Israel of obstructing their efforts to search for more hostage remains.<\/p>\n The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed in a statement that a team was present \u201cin good faith\u201d and was unaware of the circumstances leading to the discovery of the remains.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is unacceptable that a fake recovery was staged, when so much depends on this agreement being upheld and when so many families are still anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones,\u201d said Sarah Davies, a spokesperson for the ICRC.<\/p>\n This is the second time since the ceasefire that remains turned over by Hamas have been problematic. Israel said\u00a0one of the bodies Hamas released<\/a>\u00a0in the first week of the ceasefire belonged to an unidentified Palestinian.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\nFragile ceasefire holds so far despite tests<\/p>\n